When Is Classroom Assessment Educational Measurement?

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: When Is Classroom Assessment Educational Measurement?
Language: English
Authors: Susan M. Brookhart (ORCID 0000-0002-1779-9870), Sarah M. Bonner (ORCID 0000-0003-0418-5180)
Source: Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. 2026 45(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Educational Assessment, Classroom Techniques, Performance Based Assessment, Grades (Scholastic), Academic Standards, Feedback (Response), Scores
DOI: 10.1111/emip.70021
ISSN: 0731-1745
1745-3992
Abstract: The relationship between classroom assessment and educational measurement has been under discussion for some time. This article uses the TISM framework ("Theory, Instrumentation, Scales and units," and "Modeling") to clarify which aspects of classroom assessment are educational measurement (e.g., a grade on a performance assessment keyed to a learning standard) and which are not (e.g., extended elaborated feedback on that same assessment). We conclude that classroom assessment which produces ordinal or interval-level quantitative scores--by whatever name they are called, including scores, grades, and performance levels--is educational measurement because it implicates theory, instrumentation, scales and units, and modeling of error. On this basis, we claim that work in classroom assessment and educational measurement can and should be mutually informative.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1507063
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The relationship between classroom assessment and educational measurement has been under discussion for some time. This article uses the TISM framework ("Theory, Instrumentation, Scales and units," and "Modeling") to clarify which aspects of classroom assessment are educational measurement (e.g., a grade on a performance assessment keyed to a learning standard) and which are not (e.g., extended elaborated feedback on that same assessment). We conclude that classroom assessment which produces ordinal or interval-level quantitative scores--by whatever name they are called, including scores, grades, and performance levels--is educational measurement because it implicates theory, instrumentation, scales and units, and modeling of error. On this basis, we claim that work in classroom assessment and educational measurement can and should be mutually informative.
ISSN:0731-1745
1745-3992
DOI:10.1111/emip.70021